Safety tow-end device for ski binding

ABSTRACT

A safety toe-end abutment device for ski binding, of the type comprising an abutment body pivotally mounted on a shaft extending at right angles to the main ski surface and carried by a support secured to the ski, this abutment body comprises in combination a resilient thrust member acting in a plane parallel to the ski main surface and at least two rollers or like members rotatably mounted on shafts perpendicular to the main ski surface, two of these rollers being engaged by the thrust member carried by said support or by said abutment body, said rollers being carried by the abutment body or the support, respectively.

United States Patent Ramillon July 1, 1975 [54] SAFETY TOW-END DEVICE FOR SKI 1689,095 9/1972 Salomon 280/1135 T BINDING 3.785.667 1/1974 Nagasaki 280/1135 T [76] Inventor: gene lfillmillon, 3, rue Emile Zola. Primary E'\,aminer R0ben R- g reno rance Attorney. Agent, or Firm-Karl F. Ross; Herbert 1221 Filed: June 17, 1974 Dubno Appl. No.: 480,202

Related U.S. Application Data Division of Ser. No. 333297, Feb. 16, 1973, Pat. No. 3,831,957.

Foreign Application Priority Data References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Ramillon 280/1135 T [57] ABSTRACT A safety toe-end abutment device for ski binding, of the type comprising an abutment body pivotally mounted on a shaft extending at right angles to the main ski surface and carried by a support secured to the ski, this abutment body comprises in combination a resilient thrust member acting in a plane parallel to the ski main surface and at least two rollers or like members rotatably mounted on shafts perpendicular to the main ski surface, two of these rollers being engaged by the thrust member carried by said support or by said abutment body, said rollers being carried by the abutment body or the support, respectively.

2 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures SAFETY TOW-END DEVICE FOR SKI BINDING CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a division of Application Ser. No. 333.297 filed Feb. I6. 1973. now US. Pat. No. 3.83 l .957.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to ski bindings and has specific reference to a safety toe-end ski binding therefor.

Toe-end ski bindings or abutment members. comprising means for releasing the ski boot from the binding action of the complete mechanism in case of abnormal effort or in any case of an effort dangerous to the skiers leg. are generally adapted to pivot laterally. i.e. about an axis perpendicular to the main ski surface or plane. However. it is advantageous that the movement of this toe-end abutment device from the boot-locking position to the complete-release position does not occur whenever a lateral stress at the wrong time is exerted on the device.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART To avoid this known inconvenience. various so-called elastic abutment devices have been devised. In fact. these devices consist of abutment members adapted to accomplish an angular movement of moderate amplitude and to resume automatically their boot-locking position when the lateral effort applied thereto exceeds the predetermined. normal value without attaining however a value likely to endanger the skier. Moreover. these abutment devices. by undergoing an angular movement depending on the lateral stress applied thereto. permit of releasing the foot in case of slow torsional movements dangerous to the skier. in contrast to conventional-type toe-end devices designed to open only in case of sudden. fierce shock. Therefore. a toeend binding device of this character improves the users safety.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is the chief object of the present invention to provide an improved toe-end abutment device of this character for a ski binding.

In the arrangement according to the present invention the toe-end device is of the type comprising an abutment body pivotally mounted on a shaft extending at right angles to the main ski surface and carried by a support secured to the ski. This abutment body comprises in combination a resilient thrust member acting in a plane parallel to the ski main surface and at least two rollers or like members rotatably mounted on shafts perpendicular to the main ski surface. two of these rollers or like members being engaged by one end of the thrust member carried by the support member or by the abutment body or member. the rollers or like members are carried by the abutment body or the support. respectively.

In the device of this invention. this abutment device comprises a support and an abutment body which. being pivotally mounted on the support about an axis perpendicular to the main plane of the ski. carries a pair of rollers or like members also rotatably mounted on shafts perpendicular to the ski surface. the rollers being engaged by the rear end of said thrust member which. being slidably mounted in a bore extending horizontally and longitudinally in the support. is responsive to a compression spring reacting against a screw plug to permit the easy adjustment ofthe force of the spring.

Moreover. the pair of rollers or like members are housed in a cavity formed in the front face of said abutment body. and on either side of the pair of rollers the front face constitutes a cam face connecting said front face to the lateral faces or wings of the jaw engaged by the toe end of the ski boot. said cam face being slidably engaged by the operative end of said thrust member during the release and reengagement movements of the abutment body.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A clearer understanding of this invention and of its various features and advantages will be had from the following description by way of example with reference to the attached drawing. in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first form of embodiment ofthe toe-end abutment device for ski binding according to this invention; and

FIGS. 2 and 3 are horizontal sectional views showing the same device in its operative position and in its release or open position. respectively SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION In the drawing. the reference numeral 2 designates the fixed support or the device. which is rigid with a base plate or flange 3 for securing the device to the top surface of a ski. This support 2 carries a pivot shaft or pin 4 extending at right angles to the base 3. so that this shaft 4 extends vertically when the ski is horizontal. The function ofthis pivot shaft 4 is to permit the pivotal mounting ofa plate 5 covering the support 2. said plate 5 being rigid with an abutment body 6 ofwhich the rear portion constitutes a jaw II adapted to be engaged by the toe end of a ski boot (not shown). Of course. the device also comprises means for adjusting at will the level of said jaw 11 as a function of the thickness of the boot sole to be engaged thereby. but these means are not shown since they are well known to those skilled in the art.

Centrally of its front portion the abutment body 6 has formed therein a cavity 7 in which a pair of rollers 8a. 8b. are mounted for loose rotation about a pair of shafts 9 parallel to each other and to the shaft 4 to which the jaw is pivotally mounted.

These rollers 8a. 8b are slightly spaced from each other to permit the bearing engagement. against and between them. of the rear end or head 10 of a thrust member 12 slidably mounted in a longitudinal bore I3 formed in the support 2 of the abutment device. At its front end this bore 13 is tapped to permit the engagement of a screw plug l4 contacting one end of a compression spring 15. the opposite end of this spring engaging the thrust member l2. as shown.

In connection with the cavity 7 in which the pair of roller 8a. 8b engaged by the head of said thrust member 12 are housed. it will be seen that the lateral portions of its front face constitute cam faces 16 merging into the lateral faces of the abutment body 6.

FIGS. I and 2 illustrate the device in its normal operative position. i.e. in the locking or boot-retaining position. In this position. the abutment body 6 is aligned with the body 2, since the head ll) of said thrust member 6 is urged against and between the pair of rollers 8a. 8b. The longitudinal force applied by the thrust 3 member l2 urged by spring 15 will thus properly hold the abutment body 6 in its aligned or locking position.

However. assuming that a lateral effort is exerted against one of the wings of jaw 11. for example in the direction of the arrow l7 of HQ. 2, the assembly comprising the abutment body (1 and its rollers 8a. 812 will tend to pivot in the same direction about the shaft 4 and during this movement the roller 8h will roll on the head 10 of thrust member 12 while pushing this member backwards and thus increasing the compression of spring 15.

If the effort thus exerted on the jaw ll exceeds a pre determined limit or threshold value. the roller 80 will push back the head of thrust member 12 sufficiently to cause the foremost generatrix of this roller to overstep the point of said head 10, so that the device will move immediately to its release position shown in FIG. 3. ln this position the rollers 8a. 8b are no more in contact with the head 10 of thrust member l2, and the abutment body 6 is in such angular relationship to the support 2 that the skiers boot is fully released laterally.

Alternatively, assuming that the effort exerted in the direction of the arrow 17 against one of the wings of law I] is not sufficient to reach the aforesaid limit or threshold value for which the device was adjusted initially. the abutment body 6 will resume automatically and resiliently its initial or locking position by virtue of the expansion of spring [5. To produce this automatic return to the normal operative position. it is only necessary that the effort exerted on the jaw ll be inferior to that required for causing the foremost generatrix of rol let 8:! or 8b to overstep or clear the point or head 10 of thrust member 12.

As will be readily understood. the release point or hardness of operation and release of this device is adjusted by simply screwing in or out the screw plug 14 engaged by the compression spring 15 acting against the thrust member 12.

It will also be noted that when the device has been released. it is very easy to return same to its initial or normal operative position; in fact. the user has simply to pivot the abutment body 6 towards its alignment position. in the direction opposite to that having cause the release. To this end. the skier pulls or pushes the abutment member 6; this return movement takes place without difficulty for the head 10 of thrust member 12 engages and slides on the cam face 16 of the corresponding side. and this cam face exerts a progressive pressure against the head 10 of said thrust member.

until the latter is reset aut natically and resiliently be tween the pair of rollers 81/. W1.

As will readily appear front the foregoing. this abutment device affords a high degree of -.afcty for the skier. In fact. it has the peculiar characteristic features of conventional resilient toe-cnd abutment de ices of the type resuming automatically their locking position after a moderate torsion and also the advantageous features of conventional devices which. by being adapted to assume a fully open position. permit a full release of the skier's foot.

Of course. this invention should not be construed as being strictly limited by the specific forms of embodiment of the toe-end abutment device described and illustrated herein by way of example. since many modifi' cations may be brought thereto ithout departing from the basic principles of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. Thus. inter alia. the rear portion of the thrust member may have a shape other than that illustrated. for example an oval. parbspherica]. or wedge shape; or alternatively a ball may be substituted therefor.

I claim:

I. A safety toe-end device for a ski binding comprising a support mounted upon the upper surface of a ski;

a shaft carried by said support and defining a pivot axis extending perpendicular to said surface of said ski;

a thrust element on said support for movement parallel to said surface and perpendicular to said axis;

a spring on said support biasing said thrust element in one direction;

an abutment disposed ahead of said support in said direction and provided with a recess opening toward said support. said abutment being shaped to engage the toe of a ski boot; a pair of rollers on said abutment received in said recess and having axes parallel to said pivot axis; and

means mounting said abutment on said shaft for swinging movement about said pivot axis. said thrust element having an end receivable between said rollers and yieldably indexing said abutment in a position in which said abutment engages said toe of said boot.

2. The device defined in claim 1 wherein said end is a cone. 

1. A safety toe-end device for a ski binding comprising a support mounted upon the upper surface of a ski; a shaft carried by said support and defining a pivot axis extending perpendicular to said surface of said ski; a thrust element on said support for movement parallel to said surface and perpendicular to said axis; a spring on said support biasing said thrust element in one direction; an abutment disposed ahead of said support in said direction and provided with a recess opening toward said support, said abutment being shaped to engage the toe of a ski boot; a pair of rollers on said abutment received in said recess and having axes parallel to said pivot axis; and means mounting said abutment on said shaft for swinging movement about said pivot axis, said thrust element having an end receivable between said rollers and yieldably indexing said abutment in a position in which said abutment engages said toe of said boot.
 2. The device defined in claim 1 wherein said end is a cone. 